Hiraizumi
A Utopian City Built from a Desire for Peace
Oshu Hiraizumi, which once boasted a sparkling prosperity on a par with that of Kyoto, is situated in the southern part of Iwate Prefecture. Today, a peaceful rural landscape spreads out on a plain surrounded by verdant hills and traversed by the gently flowing Kitakami River. In the past, though, this was the site of a large city with a population of 100,000 people. Visitors to this district are sure to wonder what kind of people passed through the town at that time and what kind of lives the citizens lived. So let us now introduce Hiraizumi, the capital of Oshu and the historical stage for four generations of the powerful Oshu Fujiwara family. (Oshu refers to the northeastern part of Honshu, Japan’s main island.)
The Foundation of Hiraizumi Culture
About 900 years ago, in the latter part of the Heian period (794?1185), a culture blossomed in Japan under the Oshu Fujiwara family. That was Hiraizumi culture.
At the end of the eleventh century Oshu Fujiwara Kiyohira set up his base in this area. Since his childhood Kiyohira had survived many battles and skirmishes. He had witnessed fighting between relatives, and his wife and children had been killed. Having experienced this unfortunate and gruesome destiny, Kiyohira understood the preciousness of life and devoted his efforts to building a peaceful society without war---in other words, a utopian Buddhist city that replicated the Pure Land. This ideal was carried on by the generations of his son Motohira, grandson Hidehira, and great-grandson Yasuhira, and for about a century, while being influenced by Kyoto culture, Hiraizumi developed its own indigenous culture against the background of trade extending over a wide area.
Reason for Being Called the “Capital of Oshu”
The Oshu Fujiwara family envisioned building the Pure Land of Buddha in the real world. Hiraizumi gradually took shape under the four lords as they constructed several temples to cleanse the city and made use of the surrounding mountains and rivers as background scenery.
Although Oshu was situated a long way away from Kyoto, Hiraizumi achieved remarkable economic and cultural development thanks to its abundant supply of good-quality gold dust, its production of silk, lacquer, horses, and other items, and the lively trade that flourished as a result of the city’s prime position on water and land transportation routes. Viewing the temple architecture, such as the Konjikido (Golden Hall) at Chusonji temple, and the Heian art that remain today, one can glimpse traces of Hiraizumi’s capital-like prosperity of the past, when many people and goods from both Japan and overseas passed through the city and cultural exchange was lively. Chusonji and Motsuji temples are good places to see these vestiges of a glorious past.
Chusonji: A Treasury of Heian Art
Chusonji temple is situated in the surrounding hills to the north of central Hiraizumi. Belonging to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, the headquarters of which is Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei in Kyoto, Chusonji is said to have been founded in 850 by the Buddhist priest Ennin (given the posthumous title of Jikaku Daishi). At the beginning of the twelfth century Oshu Fujiwara Kiyohira further built it as a temple for the repose of the souls of the many people, both friend and foe, who had lost their lives in battles over Oshu and to guide them to the Pure Land.
Climbing the cedar-lined approach to the temple, known as Tsukimizaka (Moon-Viewing Slope), you can see the main building of Chusonji on the right. When you go a little farther, you come to the Sankozo museum on the left. This museum houses more than 3,000 national treasures and important cultural properties, including Buddhist art from the latter part of the Heian period.
Konjikido: Only Building Remaining in Original State
Among the buildings in the precincts of Chusonji, the one that stands out is the Konjikido (Golden Hall), which was constructed by Oshu Fujiwara Kiyohira in 1124. Today, to protect it from the elements, the Konjikido is covered by an outer structure erected in 1968. The gold-leaf decorating the inside and outside of the Konjikido emanates an almost divine brilliance. The hall is quite small, measuring just 5.5 meters square, but its majestic presence is overwhelming. It is an unusual hall featuring several different Buddhist statues, including the principal image of Amida Buddha, and decorated with craftsmanship that brings together the essence of Hiraizumi culture. The Konjikido is also a mausoleum for the mummified bodies of the first- to third-generation lords of the Oshu Fujiwara family (Kiyohira, Motohira, and Hidehira) and the decapitated head of the fourth-generation lord Yasuhira.
Next, let’s visit Motsuji temple, one of the representative temples of Hiraizumi and famous for having the oldest Pure Land Garden still existing in Japan.
Motsuji: The Oldest Pure Land Garden in Japan
The beautiful Pure Land Garden at Motsuji temple, which was built by the second-generation lord Motohira and third-generation lord Hidehira, is truly picturesque. Making full use of the surrounding mountains as background scenery, the garden, which expresses the Buddhist Pure Land, has flowers, plants, and trees that give enjoyment throughout the four seasons. As a result of repeated fires, the more than 40 temple buildings at Motsuji have all been burned down, so unfortunately they cannot be seen today. However, the remnants remain in almost perfect condition and are recognized as having enormous cultural value.
In the grounds of Motsuji there is a feeder stream that carries water to the garden’s pond, and every May a festival called the Gokusui no En is held. In a reproduction of an elegant Heian-period pastime, people write short poems while a sake cup floats down the stream. Other traditional events of Hiraizumi are also continued to this day and can be enjoyed throughout the year not only at Motsuji but across the whole city.
Transmitting Dreams into the Future
Hiraizumi culture, which for a century achieved great prosperity and development under the leadership of the Oshu Fujiwara family, came to a close in the era of the fourth-generation lord Yasuhira. The great historical figure who cannot be left out when talking about the fall of the Oshu Fujiwara family is Minamoto no Yoshitsune, whose elder brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo, was the first shogun of the warrior government in Kamakura. Hounded by Yoritomo, Yoshitsune received protection from Hidehira in Hiraizumi but lost that support when Hidehira died. Betrayed by Hidehira’s successor, Yasuhira, Yoshitsune committed suicide in Hiraizumi. Nevertheless, still fearful of the Oshu Fujiwara family’s power, Yoritomo sent a large army to Hiraizumi on the pretext that the Fujiwaras had given shelter to Yoshitsune, and the once mighty Oshu Fujiwara family was crushed.
After that, Hiraizumi fell into a state of continuous decline and even for a time ruin. Visiting the district 500 years later, the haiku poet Matsuo Basho wrote:
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Natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato |
The summer grass ‘Tis all that’s left of ancient warrior’s dreams |
Protected by various people over the ages, however, vestiges of Hiraizumi culture still remain as the city’s cultural heritage, and Chusonji, Motsuji, and surrounding ruins have already been placed on UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites. It is hoped that they will be officially registered as world heritage in the near future.
Access
About 2 hours 10 minutes by the Tohoku Shinkansen from JR Tokyo Station to JR Ichinoseki Station; 8 minutes by the JR Tohoku Main Line from JR Ichinoseki Station to Hiraizumi Station; 1.6 km from Hiraizumi Station to Chusonji temple; 0.7 km from Hiraizumi Station to Motsuji temple.
Chusonji temple: http://www.chusonji.or.jp (Japanese only)
Motsuji temple: http://www.motsuji.or.jp/english/index.php
Hiraizumi Tourism Association: http://hiraizumi.or.jp/en/index.html
Cooperation:
Chusonji temple, Motsuji temple, Hiraizumi Tourism Association, Hiraizumi Tourist Guide Office
Warm Hospitality, Japanese Style Part 4
The Hospitality of a Concierge---Reading the Minds of Guests
Ms. Kay Abe, Chief Concierge, Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel
Tokyo’s Roppongi district boasts the latest art, fashion, and many chic shops and restaurants. It is an excellent location for the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel, a refined and luxurious international hotel favored by many businesspeople and celebrities visiting Japan. The chief concierge there is Ms. Kay Abe, who is also active as a member of the Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels “Les Clefs d’Or” (The Society of the Golden Keys), the world organization of hotel concierges. IHCSA Cafe asked Ms. Abe about her work and aspirations as a hotel concierge.
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“I hadn’t encountered the fascinating job of reading people’s minds before.”
Cafe: What gave you the idea of becoming a concierge?
Ms. Abe: When I was a junior high school student, my mother and I accompanied my father on a business trip to Europe. At that time, in the lobbies of the hotels where we stayed, there were dignified men answering inquiries from guests about tourism and business, arranging tickets, and booking tables in restaurants. They were businesslike in their manner, but very elegant as well. In the daytime, when my father had work to do, my mother and I wanted to go sightseeing, so we would consult the concierge beforehand. And the concierge would give us a different schedule every day, assessing my mood and physical condition on that day and taking the weather and other factors into consideration. So one day we would be leisurely going around an art gallery, and another day we would be racing around a zoo. I remember being amazed, because every day he would select places that perfectly fitted our mood at that time.
The concierges whom I encountered at venerable hotels in Europe aroused my interest, because I hadn’t encountered the fascinating job of reading people’s minds before. I think my experience then was the starting point for my career as a concierge.
“It gives me enormous satisfaction when both guests and others involved in the arrangement are happy.”
Cafe: What kind of things do you take care about in your daily work as a concierge?
Ms. Abe: I get various requests from guests, but I don’t think the duty of a concierge is only to solve difficult problems. The important thing is not simply transmitting basic information and making arrangements but how the information is transmitted. When you make a reservation at a restaurant, for example, first of all you must understand the requirements of the guests, then choose the most suitable restaurant, and then also convey the guests’ requests to the restaurant. By doing so, you can help the guests enjoy their meal even more and have a pleasant time. It gives me enormous satisfaction when both guests and others involved in the arrangement are happy as a result.
A concierge is constantly watching the guests’ mood and wondering what they want and what would please them.
“Concierges first appeared in hotels in Europe around the middle of the nineteenth century.”
Cafe: Please tell us briefly about the history of the concierge.
Ms. Abe: There are various theories about the origins of the concierge. Some point to the servants who looked after guests at inns in medieval Europe. Others suggest the doorkeepers at aristocratic mansions or the people who went round the rooms at dusk lighting the candles. The origins are uncertain. It is also recorded on the door of La Conciergerie in Paris, where Marie Antoinette [1755?93], the wife of Louis XVI, was confined during the French Revolution, that the people who looked after the residents there were called concierges. [La Conciergerie was used as a royal palace and a prison from the second half of the fourteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century.]
Concierges first appeared in hotels in Europe around the middle of the nineteenth century. Their job was to greet guests at the entrance of large hotels, the so-called grand hotels, and hand them their room keys. In the twentieth century, concierges gained respect by responding accurately to all kinds of requests from aristocrats and other VIP guests, and the quality of their work, as well as their social standing, improved.
“It is important for concierges to have an active interest in the outside world.”
Cafe: Are there any differences between concierges in Japan and those in other countries?
Ms. Abe: Their history and authority are completely different. European concierges have a history of more than 100 years, but the job only appeared in Japan around 30 years ago. This huge difference is reflected in the degree of social recognition. In the West concierges are granted a lot of discretion, and their job is wide-ranging. They get invited to the theater, concerts, restaurants, and so on, because businesses want them to know about their products and services. If concierges like the good service and tasty food at a restaurant, they will introduce that restaurant to guests.
In Japanese society, though, unfortunately the role and importance of the concierge are still not recognized very much. So far from extending invitations, businesses actually do not even cooperate with us very much. If concierges had more information about the theater, restaurants, and so on, we could respond even more accurately to the requests of guests.
In today’s Japan, it is important for concierges to have an active interest in the outside world and to establish good relations on a daily basis with a wide range of businesses, such as theaters, restaurants, and flower shops.
“I endeavor to provide the kind of hospitality that makes guests want to return.”
Cafe: And what are your ambitions for the future?
Ms. Abe: I think the duty of a concierge is to read the guest’s mind and provide hospitality that exceeds the guest’s expectations. You must approach the guest not as your plain self but as a concierge of the hotel. Therefore, it is necessary to have a professional attitude as a hotelman and to constantly play that part.
I endeavor to provide the kind of hospitality that makes guests say they would like to return to the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, the hotel with “that” concierge. And when they really do come back, I feel delighted.
I would also like to establish a Japanese style of concierge, one who integrates the international services of a hotel with the traditional Japanese hospitality provided by the proprietresses of Japanese ryokan. I hope to upgrade quality in that way and appeal that style to the world.
Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels “Les Clefs d’Or”
Established in France in 1929, the Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels (UICH) is an international network organization of hotel concierges with about 3,500 members in 41 countries. The objectives of the UICH are to improve services to guests and to enable each individual member to develop into an outstanding concierge by drawing together the wisdom and knowledge of members and other activities. The UICH holds an annual world congress and various other meetings around the world, as well as study groups for concierges.
Profile of Ms. Kay Abe
Born in Tokyo. After graduation from Keio University, joined Parco Co. Worked for the planning department of the Early Development Association. In 1992 joined the Yokohama Grand Intercontinental Hotel as a concierge; promoted to head concierge in 1993. In 1997 became an international member of Les Clefs d’Or, the international organization of concierges, and the following year was appointed president of Les Clefs d’Or Japan. Has been chief concierge at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel since 2002. Publications include Watashi wa konsheruju (I Am a Concierge; Kodansha).
Cooperation
Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel
http://tokyo.grand.hyatt.com
Photos: Fumio Kimiwada, courtesy of hotel concerned
Zen Means Simplicity
IHCSA Cafe asked Mr. Daiko Matsuyama, the deputy chief priest of Taizoin temple in the precincts of Myoshinji, the head temple of the Myoshinji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto, about Zen and its meaning in the modern world. Mr. Matsuyama is also an ambassador of the “Yokoso! Japan” tourist campaign.
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Cafe: Did you decide to become a Zen priest from your childhood days?
Mr. Matsuyama: The clear decision came when I was a university student. My father, who is also a priest, insisted that I shouldn’t become a “frog at the bottom of a well” [ignorant of the outside world], so I entered university in Tokyo. In the first two years I lived at a temple in Tokyo and helped there while attending school. I didn’t have much chance to enjoy campus life! [Laughs] Around that time it was decided that I would succeed my father at the temple. But I wanted to do a little more before then [Laughs], so I got permission to go on to graduate school. At university I studied Japanese sake in the Faculty of Agriculture, and at graduate school I studied about the multiple functions of agriculture---in other words, the multifunctional role of agriculture not only as an industry but also in preserving the natural environment, preventing natural disasters, forming a scenic landscape, and so on. After completing graduate school, I entered practice at Heirin-ji temple in Niiza, Saitama Prefecture.
Cafe: What kinds of things did you do in Zen practice?
Mr. Matsuyama: We got up at 3 o’ clock in the morning, and after reading sutras for an hour and eating a humble breakfast [porridge with 10-20 grains of rice and a pickled plum], we did Zen meditation for an hour and a half and then engaged in chores around the temple, such as chopping wood and cutting grass, until lunch. After a short lunch, we did more outdoor work until 5 o’ clock and then more meditation from 6. Usually the meditation lasts until 9, but sometimes at the beginning we did overtime [Laughs] and didn’t go to bed until about midnight. For the first half year we were forbidden to go out of the temple, and after that we were allowed to go out for only one or two half-days a month. We were not allowed to read any newspapers or books.
Cafe: You couldn’t do any reading even though you had gone on to graduate school?
Mr. Matsuyama: That’s right. Zen practice means casting aside everything that you have accumulated thus far.
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Cafe: And what do you learn from that, then?
Mr. Matsuyama: I think Zen practice involves finding the core of the human being. When you cut things away, human beings become extremely simple. During my practice, sometimes families supporting the temple would send us refreshments. I was 24 years of age at that time, but there I was, a 24-year-old lad crying over a single bottle of cola. For everybody, the core of happiness is extremely simple. That is the most important wisdom I learned from my practice. It took me three and a half years to really understand that simple truth, though. After my practice, I walked from Niiza back to Kyoto, begging alms on the way. It took me 28 days.
Cafe: You hold classes to let foreigners experience Zen. What has been the response?
Mr. Matsuyama: The response has been varied. People who are interested in Zen in the philosophical sense have an interest in Zen riddles. People who are interested in diets, such as vegetarianism, have an interest in temple vegetarian cooking. Asian people have an interest in the historical links with their country. I want foreigners to know about Japanese culture and Zen, but at the same time I also hope that, as a result of foreigners being interested, conversely the number of young Japanese showing an interest will increase as well. When international conferences are held in Kyoto, we are asked to provide classes so that participants can experience Zen. On such occasions, we get Japanese university students to help.
As a result, the Japanese university students also reflect on the fact that they didn’t know about this either.
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Cafe: So both foreigners and young Japanese can deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. Do you have any plans from now on?
Mr. Matsuyama: I don’t want you to misunderstand this as opportunism, but I think that temples in Kyoto should open their doors a little wider. It would be a good thing for the stereotype to be overturned a bit. Nowadays foreigners have rather eccentric requests, like holding a wedding ceremony at a temple or proposing at a temple, but I think we should definitely help them realize those wishes. [Laughs] I also have a plan to build a facility combining a farm growing Kyoto vegetables and a Zen hall overseas. It would be good if those who experience Zen meditation and Japanese cuisine there then make a kind of “holy pilgrimage” to Japan, wouldn’t it?
Cafe: Finally, two simple questions. First of all, what is happiness?
Mr. Matsuyama: The degree of happiness is like a fraction in which the numerator is what you have gained and the denominator is what you want. The Buddhist way of thinking is that the denominator should be made smaller.
Cafe: And what is the meaning of Zen in modern times?
Mr. Matsuyama: I believe that precisely because we are living in the complex modern world, it is necessary for us to sit with regulated posture and breathing and be simple.
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Profile of Mr. Daiko Matsuyama
Born in Kyoto in 1978. Completed studies in the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo. Appointed ambassador of the “Yokoso! Japan” tourist campaign in 2009. Deputy chief priest of Taizoin temple at Myoshinji, the head temple of the Myoshinji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto.
Taizoin URL: http://www.taizoin.com/
Photos: Fumio Kimiwada, courtesy of temple concerned
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